Meet Bao Bao the panda

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Report and vocabulary

Transcript:

Fans of all things soft and cuddly queue up to hear the name of the latest addition to this US zoo's giant panda family.

In keeping with Chinese tradition, the naming ceremony happened as Bao Bao, which means 'precious baby', turned 100 days old.

Bao Bao herself was too busy snuggling up to mum in their den to see this special message from a famous panda-lover.

cuddly

something you want to hug

in keeping with

following the usual way of doing things

naming ceremony

event at which a person, animal or thing is given a name

snuggling up to

moving itself close to another thing for comfort

den

home for (some) animals

Exercise

Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from news reports.

Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.

cuddly / in keeping with / naming ceremony / snuggled up / dens

1. Over the course of the three-day event, there are public prayers, two marriages, and a __________, where followers choose an ancient name - like Calisto, Hermis or Orpheus - and "cleanse" themselves of their modern Christian ones.

2. Kipling had probably read a pamphlet by Sir William Henry Sleeman - An Account of Wolves Nurturing Children in Their __________ - before he created Mowgli.

3. They flew over Belarus, dropping __________ toys with pro-democracy slogans over the town of Ivenets and a suburb of the capital Minsk, before flying back unmolested to neighbouring Lithuania.

4. For the first 10 years, she __________ between the couple, but now at 130kg (287lbs) she has to have a bed of her own.

5. The island - which is not populated by humans - is popular with birdwatchers, many hundreds of them flocking there every year to enjoy the peace and tranquillity. And the cliff-side loo, on the east of the island, is totally __________ that ambience.